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BEMIDJI -- Interested members of the public are invited to attend a Kids Count Coffee on Monday to discuss data in the new 2014 Kids Count Data Book. The Children's Defense Fund-Minnesota, Evergreen Youth & Family Services and Beltrami County Human Services will host the Kids Count Coffee from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the Northwest Minnesota Foundation in downtown Bemidji, 201 Third St. NW.

Bethany Wesley bwesley@bemidjipioneer.com BEMIDJI — Of 173 student days planned for this school year in Bemidji Area Schools, 145 involved some type of mandated testing. Local school officials are now...

BEMIDJI -- With six unenthusiastic "aye" votes, the Bemidji School Board adopted a plan for what will happen if the Nov. 4 referendum is not passed by voters. In a unanimous vote, the School Board said it would reconfigure grade levels, moving eighth-graders to Bemidji High Schools and fifth-graders to Bemidji Middle School, reflecting a move that has long been discussed, but never officially adopted. "This is a very distressing and disturbing option," said Bill Faver, School Board member. "Its is really a temporary solution, reconfiguration, and it does not address ...

BEMIDJI -- Former mayor Dave Larson will return to city politics after easily defeating Don Heinonen on Tuesday for the at-large seat on the Bemidji City Council. Larson captured 69.49 percent of the vote to Heinonen's 29.79 percent. Larson, who served as mayor from 2010 to 2012, won in all five wards. "At-large" means the council member is not attached to any particular ward, and any Bemidji resident can vote in the race. "I believe that when I left the mayorship, I had a reasonably good reputation and certainly name recognition," Larson told the Pioneer after viewing the last returns.

BEMIDJI -- Reed Olson was out at Ruttger's on Sunday when he just happened to look up at the right spot at the right moment. "It was about 4:45 so the sky was bright and blue and I saw it -- it didn't look like a meteor at night, which is normally orange or yellowish white -- this looked like phosphorus white, just brilliant, metallic white," he said. The American Meteor Society has received five reports from area residents who reported seeing some of type of fireball in Sunday's evening sky.

BEMIDJI -- Sometimes, things just click. Holly Nelson was in the middle of casting for "The Wizard of Oz," this year's fall musical at Bemidji High School, when she found the perfect Toto -- at the Beltrami Humane Society. "They said, 'We just had a Cairn Terrier turned in,' which is the same type of terrier that Toto was in the movie," Nelson said. "It wasn't even out of quarantine yet. She was a puppy so she's going to be not quite 11 months for the show.